Different Minds
by Dellaney
Summary: Draco and Pansy....puh-lease. It's Nicole Brinkley that catches his eye, but will Pansy let that happen?


CHapter One  
The day was cold and rainy, the worst it had been all week and Nicole Brinkley sat huddled in a large chair in the middle of the Ravenclaw Common Room. It was very early, and Nicole could see rays of sunlight coming through the large stained glass windows. She sat and stared at the ever- blazing fire. It's embers crashing wildly against the stone walls surrounding them. Nicole sighed and stood up, she stretched her arms and yawned softly. It had been weeks since she had actually gotten any sleep and it showed. Light bags appeared from under her eyes and it took spells upon potions to keep her awake during class.  
Nicole ran a hand through her hair and made her way up to the girls' dormitory. It was quiet as she tip-toed up the stone steps. She reached the door that said, "6th Years" and opened the large wooden door. Thankfully everyone was still sleeping. Nicole walked quietly over to her bed and pulled open the door to her wardrobe. She checked the calender on the inside of the door and sighed with relief, it was a Hogsmeade weekend. She rummaged through her clothing and wasn't satisfied until she pulled everything out. After what seemed like an eternity, she finally found something suitable towear. A quick wave of her wand and all of her belongings shot straight back into her wardrobe as neatly as before.  
The trip to the Prefects' bathroom was fast. Nicole breathed the password, "Fire Lilies," and watched as the heavy chamber door creaked open slowly. It was empty. She dropped her things on one of the wooden benches and stripped herself from her night gown. She turned the faucets and woke up instantly to the hot water pouring slowly down her neck and shoulders. The muscles in her lower back began to loosen and she quickley turned off the shower faucets. She stepped out of the shower and wrapped a soft white towel around her body. Her hair still dripping, she grabbed her wand from her bag, and waved it slowly over her face. Her hair dryed instantly.  
She washed her face and applied little make-up. She then glanced at her reflection in the long full-length mirror in front of her. She wore vintage, ripped jeans, a white ribbed tank top with a pink hoodie. A rainbow belt was around her wait and black Converse sneakers on her feet. Her hair was a dark brown that fell to about her shoulder blades in soft, loose curls. Her dark brown eyes stared back at her with their long lashes and perfectly manicured brows. Her soft skin was lightly tanned and very few freckles were scattered across her nose. She shrugged and turned around to grab her bag. She was a very pretty girl, she just didn't have much confidence in herself.  
She checked her watched and let out a tiny gasp, it was almost ten o'clock. All the students left at 10:30 and she hadn't yet had breakfast. She grabbed her cloak, threw it over her forearm and raced to the Great Hall, nearly colliding with half a dozen first years while doing so. As she stepped inside, she noticed how very crowded it was than usual. Of course it could be becasue of Hogsmeade, but Nicole couldn't tell. She walked straight towards the Ravenclaw table and took a seat across Padma Patil and Lisa Turpin, her two very best friends.  
Padma, whose twin sister Parvati was a Gryffindor, was very pretty indeed and had even gone to the Yule Ball with Ron Weasley. He was a sixth year also and just happened to be Harry Potter's best friend, along with Hermione Granger. Padma hadn't exactly had the best time with Ron and ended up dancing with many of the boys from Durmstang, not that she wasn't happy about that. Her dark hair was up in a high ponytail and she looked very mature in her navy blue cloak. She gave Nicole a wink.  
"Look who finally showed up," Padma laughed as she pushed over a mug of earl grey to Nicole. "You've got about ten minutes, hurry."  
Lisa, who had been engrossed in an advanced Transfiguration book, finally noticed that Nicole had even sat down. She marked her page and closed the heavy book with a thud. She was studying to become an Animagi and was working day and night with Professor McGonagall. She wanted to be able to transform into a cat. As Lisa brushed a stray peice of blonde hair behind her ears, she studied Nicole with her big hazel-brown eyes.  
"You haven't been sleeping again have you?" She asked with a frown. "Why don't you take that sleeping potion I've made for you?"  
"Are you going to be with Terry today?" Nicole asked Padma, easily changing the subject as she began busying herself with buttering a small peice of toast. She could hear Lisa faintly click her tounge.  
"Yeah." Padma said as her cheeks flushed. "Lisa and Micheal Corner are going to Zonko's together and than the lot of us are heading for lunch at Three Broomsticks. You can just us if you'd like."  
"Uh...I don't--," but Nicole's words were cut short as the bell rang to dismiss all the students. She was quite relieved. That was all she wanted to do with her Saturday, spend it as the fifth wheel.  
Nicole glanced down at her piece of toast, only a bite taken out of it, and stuffed it whole in her mouth. Her cheeks bulged. She threw on her ivory cloak, put her hood up and followed Padma and Lisa out of the Great Hall. They all lined up next to one another and listened as Professor Flitwick took roll call. Padma giggled and said qiuetly, "Very attractice, dear." Nicole shot her a look and quickly swallowed her toast.  
The three friends followed the rest of the students out of the main gate and walked quickly to find a carriage to themselves. Padma stopped for a moment before stepping inside. Once she sat down, Padma rolled her dark eyes."It's nearly Halloween and guess who just broke up for the third time this year?" Padma said as she shook her head with disgust.  
"Pansy and Draco?" Lisa and Nicole both asked at the same time. They looked at each other and Lisa laughed. Nicole spoke again.  
"Did she slap him again too?" she asked with a worried expression. She didn't want to tell Lisa or Padma this, but she had a soft spot for Draco Malfoy. She couldn't help but sympathize with him. It must be horrible to have Lucious Malfoy asa father. The two were the 'it' couple at Hogwarts and have broken up and gotten back together more times than Nicole could count on both her fingers and toes.  
"Of course she did," said Padma with a laugh.  
  
Draco Malfoy sat fuming in a his carriage, giving glaring looks at Crabbe and Goyle the whole way to Hogsmeade. He was sick of her, of them, of everyone! He tried to do the right thing and break it off with Pansy. He didn't love her, he never did. But of course he couldn't turn her down. His father would have an uproar, he knew the Parkinsons very well. Draco wasn't going to go back to Pansy though, not anymore. She treated him worse than he treated Potter. He ran a hand through his platnuim blond hair and felt where Pansy slapped him. It still stung a little, but he wasn't going to admit it, especially not to the two of them. He crossed his arms and sat back. The could figure out what to say, themselves.  
"Dra-c-co," Goyle said slowly, as if he didn't know what to say next.  
  
"Oh shove it will you?" Draco wasn't in the mood for talking at the moment.The carriages came to a stop and Draco watched as Crabbe and Goyle ran off to Zonko's Joke Shop.  
Draco stood standing still in the middle of a Hogsmeade street and thought of where he was going to go. He had been and done everything there was to do at Hogsmeade, he had been going since he was just a little boy. He grabbed his coin bag out of his pocket and head straight towards the Hog's Head. Maybe a glass or two of butterbeer would cheer him up.  
Grunts and eyes followed Draco as he walked towards the musty bar. The bartender looked up at the tall boy with interest. "What can I get for yeh' Draco?" Draco had come here every trip since his third year, he was practically a regular.  
"A butterbeer," Draco said as he crinkled his nose. "When are you going to start cleaning this place?"  
But Draco couldn't hear the bartender's muffled reply from under the bar, he just dropped two knuts on the counter and grabbed his drink. He walked over to the table in the very back and took a seat on one of the old black chairs. The bell on the door rang again, but Draco didn't look up to see who it was. He was to busy getting himself drunk to notice, or care. Humph!  
  
"No, don't worry about me," Nicole muttered to herself. She shook her head and opened the thick wooden door leading to the Hog's Head. Yes, being in an old fairly dirty bar was exactly how she wanted to spend her Saturday afternoon. Though she had already been everywhere else. She aslo didn't want to tag along on Lisa and Padma's double date.  
Nicole dropped the hood of her cloack and looked around. Two goblins sat at the bar. They looked mildly interested as they sipped their firewhiskies. An old hag sat in the front, she was reading a copy of the Daily Prophet. In the back corner, alsmot hard to see was someone huddled up in a dark cloak.  
Other than that, the place was fairly epmty and Nicole liked it that way. She made her way to the bartender. He looked at her with a scowl and continued to clean the bar, a very dirty, old rag in his hand. Nicole was startled to see that everytime he wiped down the counter it just seemed ot get dirtier.  
"Excuse me," Nicole said gently. The bartender looked up once more. "One butterbeer."  
The bartender muttered something incoherant and dug below for a bottle. Nicole took out her change purse and waited for him to come back up. Seconds later a dusty bottle appeared on the counter and the bartender popped back up.  
"Two knuts," was all her said. Nicole handed him the change and watched as he dropped them into an old register. Old seemed to be the motif in this place. Nicole grabbed the bottle and made her way to the back of the pub. Maybe if she sat back far enough, no one would notice her. She took a seat in one of the many empty booths and opened her butterbeer. It instantly warmed her up and she was grateful. It was a very chilly October day. Her eyes traveled to the man in the cloack. He was only diagnol from her now. She looked at him discreetly and gasped quietly. It was Draco Malfoy and he looked drunk as can be! She looked away quickly and surpressed a giggle. Poor boy!  
  
Draco took another sip of his drink and sat back in his chair. It was his third one in the last ten minutes. He looked around and his eyes landed on a pretty girl in an ivory cloak. The minute he caught her eye, she looked away. His eyes shifted around the bar and decided that the girl was the only relatively normal person in there, beside him. He had surely seen her before. His eyes caught on a silver badge attached to her cloack and then he realized. She was a prefect! Ravenclaw no doubt, no Hufflepuff would come inside the Hog's Head and he knew for sure that Weasley and that horrible Granger would not be in here either. Now, if he could only just place her name. He would usually know these things but he was sure the butterbeer was clogging his memory. Nicole, Natasha...something with a N, he knew that. Nicole...Nicole Brinkley! That's it. Sixth year, Ravenclaw. He remembered from the Prefects meeting earlier in the year.  
What in Merlin's name she was doing in the Hog's Head, he had no idea! He thought for sure she should be in Madame Puddifoot's place down the road. Anywhere girley! Not the Hog's Head. But he didn't have to think anymore. She was coming towards him that minute. 


End file.
